


The Same, but Different

by Peeps



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peeps/pseuds/Peeps
Summary: Zack survives his cliff top battle and the story subtly changes.Taking an alternate look at the ending of FFVII, and how different things might have been.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	The Same, but Different

Not since his earliest days of SOLDIER had Zack’s body hurt so much. Despite his aching muscles and fatigue, he couldn’t stop to rest. More troops could arrive at any moment and he hadn’t come all this way just to be gunned down atop the cliffs overlooking Midgar. No way. 

“Almost home, buddy.” Hefting the inert body of his companion off the dusty ground, Zack wrapped an unresponsive arm around his shoulders to half-carry, half-drag Cloud towards sanctuary. Every step caused fresh new pain, but Zack pressed on. They were close enough to the city that he could smell it. Literally - industrial fumes and the unmistakable tang of mako in the air prickled at his nostrils. At any other time, he’d have grumbled and rubbed at his itching nose, but at that moment, he could have sobbed in relief. 

“First thing we’re going to do is get some decent food in us. A burger, with bacon and cheese and fries on the side. A coke, too! Do you drink coke, Cloud? Nah, you’re probably a sparkling orange kind of guy, huh?”

Mindless chatter helped take Zack’s mind off his discomfort. It also helped him to pretend that this was a completely normal situation instead of the horrific truth. He and Cloud were fugitives, wanted men, and if they did encounter any more ShinRa operatives, Zack knew their chances of survival would be low in his current state. Unless, by some miracle, Cloud came around and proved himself to be some kind of marvel with Zack’s sword, but that was unlikely. The best they could hope for was that they made it the rest of the way to Midgar without incident. 

“It’s getting dark,” Zack said, glancing up at the sky. Black clouds gathered; a deluge was imminent and Zack hurried his pace. Getting soaked to the skin would only add insult to already significant injury. Giving Cloud a gentle shake, Zack quipped, “Don’t suppose you brought an umbrella?”

The first drops of heavy rain started to fall as Zack and Cloud reached the top of the final descent towards Midgar. It might be too soon for relief, but Zack did allow himself to feel some hope that they might actually succeed. They’d make it to Midgar safely and then... 

Then Zack would have to come up with a more coherent plan than become mercenaries. He’d need to find them a place to stay, somewhere they wouldn’t get caught, and they’d need money for that. It wouldn’t be easy to establish himself as a merc, especially whilst dragging a comatose Cloud everywhere with him. Maybe they’d just need to find a vacant building to hole up in at first. Making these plans helped take Zack’s mind off his various aches and pains, but it also proved distracting. When his foot slipped on some loose gravel, made slick by the pouring rain, Zack’s knees buckled and sent him stumbling. Cloud flipped forwards, further disrupting Zack’s centre of balance and only by sheer luck did he manage to stop himself from face-planting in the dirt. Cloud wasn’t quite so fortunate and slipped from his grasp, crumpling to the ground. 

“Shit, I’m sorry!” Dropping to his knees, Zack rolled Cloud onto his back and checked for damage. “That’d be right. Protect you from all those bullets and what kills you is my clumsiness,” he muttered and used his thumb to try and wipe away a smear of mud from Cloud’s chin. With dwindling energy, Zack remained where he was, kneeling in mud, and pulled Cloud against his body. Vacant eyes stared up at him and raindrops rolled down Cloud’s cheeks, like tears. 

“I promise you, buddy, that everything’s going to be okay. There are people in Midgar who can help us. We’ve just gotta find them.” So near and yet so far, the city rose on the horizon, the glow from the reactors lighting up the dusk and bathing the city in a soft aura of light. Once upon a time, Zack knew his way around Midgar perfectly, having studied street and transit maps when he first arrived. Now, he wasn’t so confident but he’d figure it out. He was smart. 

“Can’t stay here all night, can we?” Once more looping Cloud’s arm around his shoulders, Zack got them both to their feet and restarted his descent, taking more care to watch his footing this time. It’d take time, but better to be safe than sorry. 

The closer they got to Midgar, the more the rain carried a taint with it, tasting metallic on Zack’s lips. The pollution had grown far worse than Zack remembered and the aura he saw from a distance was more down to a reflection of mako glow in clouds of smog than anything else. In his eagerness to return to the city, Zack had mostly forgotten this more unpleasant aspect of Midgar. But it was still their best hope. With how densely populated the city was, they’d be able to lie low and get lost in the crowd, gaining anonymity by virtue of being nobodies in a sea of other nobodies. 

Getting into Midgar itself presented another problem, however. You couldn’t just stroll across the city boundary, marked, as it was, with a near impenetrable wall. There were gates, of course, most of which were locked and rarely used. Of the ones which were used, guards patrolled, checking identities and papers. In theory, nobody who wasn’t meant to got inside, but in reality, people got themselves into the city regularly. The job of guarding the wall was notorious for being the deployment nobody wanted, and if you did end up there, it was either because you’d pissed off the wrong person or you were deemed too inept to do anything of importance. For the right fee, or other form of persuasion, certain guards would look the other way while immigrants snuck through the gate. 

Zack and Cloud had little more than the clothes on their back. The only thing of value either possessed was Zack’s sword, and nothing short of death could make him part with that. Bribery wasn’t an option and those other forms of persuasion didn’t really appeal to Zack. 

“If we can find one with only a couple of guards,” he murmured to Cloud. “I can easily knock them out.” Not kill them, though. There had already been enough of that back on the cliff. How they’d made it this far without more operatives coming after them was incredible. ShinRa wouldn’t have just given up, not after how dogged they’d been with their pursuit so far. Not for a moment did Zack believe they were out of danger yet. There would, undoubtedly, be more to come and he realised that the most obvious place to run into trouble was now the gates. 

“If ShinRa are smart, there’ll be entire squadrons waiting for us at these gates.” Zack wondered how much time had passed since his cliff top battle. An hour, maybe two at most. Plenty of time for personnel to be mobilised and moved into position. Uttering a rare curse under his breath, Zack looked around for a suitable spot to pause and take stock of everything. The closer to civilisation they got, the less hospitable nature became, with sharp, jagged rocks jutting out of the ground. Zack wasn’t asking for much. Just a relatively flat area with a smooth-ish rock against which they could lean. A place to catch their breath and rest their weary bones, even if only for a short time. 

After a few minutes of walking, Zack spied somewhere that almost exactly fit the bill. The people of Midgar didn’t care about their garbage and apparently someone had dumped a load of wood and metal sheeting just outside the city. Luckily, Zack fancied himself handy enough that he’d be able to fashion a shelter for the night, so he and Cloud might even be able to get some sleep before continuing on their journey. 

“Halt,” a voice from the darkness commanded, and Zack immediately complied. He might have been a little more intimidated had the voice not had the distinctive high pitch of a kid. “Identify yourself!”

Before Zack could respond, more disembodied voices came from the darkness, one sounding very much like a parent chastising their child.

“Hey,” he called, trying to sound as placid and non-threatening as possible. “Don’t be fooled by the uniform. I’m not here for you. My friend’s hurt and we’re just looking for somewhere to sit down for a while.” 

There was a moment of silence, followed by the scrape of metal against rock as one of the sheets moved and a face peered out. 

“You look like a SOLDIER to me,” a male voice said. “If you’re no threat, then you won’t have any problem with moving on.” 

“Please,’ Zack said, his voice cracking. “Just five minutes and then we’ll be on our way again.”

“You must be stupid if you think we believe that. We’re armed in here! We’ve got guns and swords and we’re not afraid to use them.” The man’s tone sounded desperate and scared, and Zack knew the words were mostly bravado. “If you come any closer, I will shoot you.”

“Okay, okay.” Holding up one hand, Zack sighed and backed away slowly.

“Wait!” Another voice spoke, female this time. “Look at them,” she whispered to the man, and Zack strained to listen. “The weather is miserable out there. They must be drenched and freezing. We can’t not help them.” 

“Ma’am, it’s okay,” Zack said, interrupting the quiet conversation. “We don’t want to cause any trouble for anyone so we’ll be on our way and-“

“Get in here,” the man barked, and pushed the metal sheeting wide enough to allow Zack and Cloud entry. “The longer we’re here arguing, the greater the chances we’ll all be caught.”

The guy had a point, so Zack wasted no further time and made his way into the shelter, pulling the metal closed again once Cloud was inside. Although dark outside, it was even darker within the little shelter and he had to wait a few seconds before his eyes adjusted to the gloom. Besides him and Cloud, there were four other people - the man and woman who had spoken, the kid and another adult. 

“Hey,” he said after gently lowering Cloud to the ground. “I’m Zack.” 

“Myles,” the man replied, then gestured to the woman and the boy. “That’s my wife, Gilda and our son, Liam. Over in the corner is my mother, Mira.”

Liam stepped forward, brandishing a wooden sword, and announced, “I’m going to be in SOLDIER one day!”

Zack laughed. “Is that right? Well, you’re brave enough.”

Pointing the tip of his sword at Cloud, Liam asked, “What’s wrong with him?”

“Ah, this is my buddy, Cloud, and he’s not feeling too well right now.” As if in response, Cloud groaned quietly. That was all he’d been able to do since they’d escaped the lab in Nibelheim. “He’ll be okay, though! Once we get into Midgar, we’ll both be okay.”

From her corner in the shelter, Mira snorted. Apparently, she didn’t believe that.

“We’re trying to get to Midgar too,” Gilda confided, pulling her son closer to her. “Someone’s supposed to be helping us, but they haven’t arrived yet. When we heard you two outside, we thought it might be them. No matter! We’ve waited this long, so we can hold on for a little while longer. When was the last time you ate?”

Truth be told, Zack had no idea the last time he’d eaten anything, but as good as the idea of food sounded, he didn’t want to deprive this poor family of their provisions, so he shook his head to decline the offer.

“We’re fine, don’t worry about it. But maybe some water, if you can spare it?” Not for him, but for Cloud. Getting into a more comfortable position on the ground, Zack pulled Cloud closer and onto his lap, letting Cloud’s rest against his chest, head lolling on his shoulder. Myles passed over a half-full bottle of water. As Zack opened it and held it to Cloud’s lips to pour a little into his mouth, he asked, “You guys got somewhere to go in Midgar?”

They had family waiting for them, Myles explained. His cousin and wife lived in Sector Seven and had promised Myles and his family a place to stay and the prospect of work for Gilda. Unfortunately, Myles went on to say, he was unable to work due to an illness, but didn’t offer any more detail than that. 

“My cousin knows people who can get us through the gates. It’s cost us almost our entire life savings, but it’ll be worth it.” Again, Mira snorted and in response, Myles huffed. “She thinks we’re foolish and that Midgar won’t be any better than where we came from. We have to try though, don’t we? If not for our sake, then for Liam.”

Whether or not Mira had anything else to add to that, she chose not to voice it. 

“I hope it works out for you all, I really do,” Zack said, wiping water from Cloud’s chin and drying his hand on his pants. Only a small amount of water was left in the bottle and Zack felt guilty over using so much but Cloud had needed it. “Do you know how they’re going to get you into the city?”

“There’s a gap in the wall, not too far away. That’s why we’re waiting here. They set up this shelter and have been using it for years. Take a look.” Sudden light bathed the walls and Myles moved his flashlight around, showing Zack notes etched into the walls. “Every single one of these is from someone who was smuggled into the city. We’re going to add our own before we leave.”

Not wanting to disturb Cloud, Zack could only read the ones closest to him. Each contained the hopes and dreams, and the names of the families that had passed through this shelter on their way to a better life. There were so many that in places, the writing overlapped. He could understand why people wanted to get into Midgar. For all the city’s flaws - and there were many - it was still a much better option than some of the alternatives. 

How these people smugglers had managed to operate for so long without being caught was beyond Zack’s understanding, but he was glad of it. While he had no money to offer them, hopefully they could come to some kind of deal to help him and Cloud into the city as well as Myles and his family. If it meant being indebted and having to work for them for a while, putting his plans to become a mercenary on hold for a while, then Zack would be more than willing. 

Myles extinguished his light, explaining that they didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention. There had been, he said, the sound of distant gunfire and explosions earlier, and despite the darkness, Zack could feel Myles’ eyes on him. No doubt their injuries, and the blood, had been far more obvious in the glare of the flashlight, earning some suspicion. 

“Yeah, I think we heard that too,” Zack replied evasively. “Feel sorry for whoever was involved.” 

Conversation dried up at that point, with everyone in the shelter lapsing into silence except for the sound of Liam practicing his sword slashes. He reminded Zack a little of Cloud, back when they’d first met. Such a long time ago now, and so much had happened since then. But he could clearly recall how eager Cloud had been, how optimistic and bright-eyed. A far cry from his current state, though Zack was confident that with Cloud would be back to his usual self soon enough. 

“Did you hear that?” Myles asked, addressing no-one in particular. Quietly, he crept towards the opening of the shelter and pressed his ear to the crack. “Footsteps outside. Must be them this time.” 

A collective breath was held, with each person - with the exception of Cloud - peering towards the opening, barely daring to hope that the incoming visitors were the smugglers and not, as Zack feared, ShinRa troopers. Three sharp knocks sounded, reverberating against the metal, then a few seconds of silence followed by three more knocks. 

“That’s it! That’s the signal!” Myles pushes against the door to open it and two figures appeared outside. 

“You ready? We need to be quick. There was some kinda trouble earlier, so more patrols than usual. Wait, who are they? We agreed on four people.”

“Hey,” Zack replies, raising a hand in an apologetic greeting. “Sorry, we kind of crashed their party. Mind if we tag along, though? Can’t pay you, but maybe we could work out some sort of compensation?”

“Like what?” The stranger asked, glancing back over his shoulder at his compatriot. 

“I could uh… Well, I’m a merc, so I could help you out with stuff. Maybe some monster slaying or helping you get people into the city?” Anything. Zack was willing to do anything to ensure Cloud’s - and his - safety. “And once my friend wakes up, he’ll help out, too! He’s a good fighter and a real hard worker. Please?”

The metal was pushed closed, and Zack worried that he’d ruined things for everyone, but after some muttering outside, the door opened again and the same man told everyone - including Zack and Cloud - to follow him.

Glad that the rain had abated, they all followed the smugglers, pausing when they paused and crouching in the shadows when they did. To save his aching muscles, Zack held Cloud on his other side and whispered comfortingly to him, telling Cloud how they’d be home soon. Home and safe, wherever home ended up being. Sector Seven was as good a choice as any, Zack supposed, but he’d prefer it to be Sector Five. 

“You’re SOLDIER, right?” One of the smugglers had hung back, waiting to speak to Zack.

“Ex-SOLDIER. I quit.” It was practically true. Zack had zero intentions of ever working for ShinRa again. 

“Ex-SOLDIER? That means you must not be a fan of ShinRa, huh? Perfect,” the smuggler replied, lips curling into a wry smirk. “Means you can fight. I know some people in Sector Seven. They’re looking for a merc and I’m thinking that you might be their man.” 

“Yeah! Sure!” Only too pleased to potentially pay the smugglers back for their generosity, Zack would agree to whatever suggestions were put his way. “What do they need?”

Voice dropping to a whisper, the smuggler asked, “You heard of AVALANCHE?” Of course Zack had heard of the terrorist group. Who in ShinRa hadn’t? “They’re planning something. Don’t know what it is, don’t want to know what it is, but it’s going to be big, so I hear.”

Having already promised himself that he’d do anything, Zack couldn’t very well back out now, especially when he had Cloud to think of. If it repaid his debt to the smugglers, and potentially made him some contacts in the slums, then whatever the job was, Zack would give it his all.

“I’ll introduce you to B when we get to Sector Seven. He’ll tell you whatever you need to know. You’re out of our hands after that, okay?”

“Okay,” Zack said. “And thanks.” 

The gap in the wall was far bigger than Zack had imagined, and was covered over with yet more scrap metal, including the burnt-out remains of cars. Leaving Cloud in the care of Gilda and Mira, Zack helped the smugglers clear a path through. To his further surprise, the gap was actually quite close to Sector Seven - no more than a twenty minute walk to the outskirts of the slums. Zack could scarcely believe their luck. They’d made it! No more fights, no more killing, no more worrying about being caught - all they needed to do was to find a place to stay and meet whoever this B person was. After that, everything would work out just fine.

The slums were exactly as Zack remembered, with people carving out lives for themselves in ShinRa’s rejected pile. Despite the relatively late hour, there were plenty of people still on the streets, drinking their beers in small, chatty groups or eating at the mobile food vendors. When Zack passed by one of the food trucks, his stomach growled and he wished he’d taken Gilda up on her offer of something to eat. 

“Myles! Oh god, it’s really you!” A slender woman ran towards their group, trailed by a gangly man who limped with every step. As soon as they reached Miles and Gilda, there were warm, welcoming hugs all round. The cousin and his wife, Zack presumed, smiling as he watched the sweet family reunion. 

“Come on,” the smugger who’d told Zack about AVALANCHE said. “Leave them to it. You’re with us.” 

Sorry to leave Myles and the others without saying goodbye, Zack turned his back on them and started to follow the smuggler.

“Zack, wait,” he heard Gilda call out behind him, and turned to see what she wanted.

“Why don’t you leave Cloud with us? You’re going to be busy and I’ve got some nursing training. I’ll look after him, I promise, and as soon as you’re able, and you’ve got a place to stay lined up, you can come and get him.”

Zack wavered. Cloud was his responsibility, but Gilda made a good point. It wasn’t as if Zack could keep Cloud with him at all times, especially if he was going to be working with AVALANCHE. Reluctantly, he agreed, but insisted on carrying Cloud into the small home and getting him settled on the couch.

“I’ll be back for you soon, buddy,” he said, clasping Cloud’s hands between his own. “These nice people are going to take care of you while I earn some money.” If Cloud understood, or even heard, he gave no indication. Thanking the family profusely, Zack took one last look at Cloud before heading back outside to find the smuggler. 

The meeting point was a bar, right in the centre of town. Seventh Heaven. It looked like a nice place, with a dart board and a jukebox and a pretty, young barmaid. Having been told to sit at one of the corner tables, Zack waited patiently as the smuggler talked in hushed tones with a large man who, bizarrely, appeared to have a gun grafted to his arm. This had to be B, Zack supposed. The man looked like he took no nonsense from anyone, and Zack made a mental note to keep any quips or jokes to himself for once.

“You the SOLDIER?” Looming over him, B was even bigger up close than Zack expected.

“Ex-SOLDIER, but yeah. Name’s Zack Fair.” 

B scowled and yanked a chair away from the table so he could lower his bulk onto it. Gun-arm coming down on the table with a thunk, the man regarded Zack through narrowed, untrusting eyes.

“Barret Wallace. I hear you’re a merc for hire. Well,” Barret said. “How do you feel about helping us blow up a reactor?”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a friend, who has drawn some beautiful [artwork](https://www.deviantart.com/hachigatsu-kiro/art/this-is-the-welcome-we-get-843121983) to go along with it!


End file.
